Experiment

1. Measure 1 cup of warm water into a large, plastic cup.
2. Add a tablespoon of Borax powder to the water.
3. Stir the solution – don’t worry if all of the powder dissolves. This Borax solution is the secret linking agent that causes the PVA molecules to turn into slime.
4. Measure 2 ounces (60 mL) of the Clear Slime Goo solution into a plastic cup. You’ll see markings on the side of the cup to indicate ounces. Fill the cup to the “2” line.
5. Add 1 ounce (30 mL) of the borax solution to the Clear Goo in the cup.
6. The last step is the most important one. It’s time to shake. Wait! Don’t shake anything until you seal the shaker cup with a lid. Go ahead… shake! Don’t stop shaking for at least 1 minute. Take a rest if you need to, but you need lots of shaking. 3-2-1… stop. Fix your eyes on the liquid in the cup. What? It’s not a liquid any more? The Clear Goo changed into a big ball of slime.
7. If you want to make larger portions, use the lines on the shaker cup and just increase the proportions.  To make 3 ounces (90 mL) of slime, fill to the “3” line and use 1.5 (45 mL) of borax.  It’s as simple as that!

How Does It Work?

Most liquids, such as water, are made up of small, unconnected molecules bouncing around and tumbling over and into one another. These single, unconnected molecules are called monomers. Monomer liquids flow easily and are seldom gooey or sticky to the touch. In other substances, the monomers are linked together in long chains of molecules known as polymers. These long chains don’t flow easily at all. Like a bowl of cooked spaghetti, they sort of roll over and around one another. Liquid polymers tend to be a lot gooier and flow more slowly than liquid monomers. The Atomic Goo solution called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) you used to make slime is a liquid polymer.

PVA is used by the plastics industry to form surface coatings and to make surface films resistant to gasoline. It’s also used to make artificial sponges, hoses, and printing inks. If you check out the ingredients of contact lens wetting solutions, you may find PVA used as a lubricant and a cleanser. The PVA solution in this kit contains coloring and a special disinfectant to help resist pesky germs on those not-so-clean hands.

The borax solution is called sodium tetraborate. Your parents or grandparents will recognize the name Borax as a unique brand of powdered soap used to whiten linen and to really clean your hands. The Borax or sodium tetraborate molecules act to “cross-link” the long strands of PVA molecules. Just imagine a box full of tiny, steel chains that slip and slide easily across one another.  Each chain is made up of hundreds of individual links but one chain is not connected to another chain. Borax loves to connect with water and billions of Borax molecules randomly link trillions of water molecules found anywhere on the chains of PVA.  Now when you pull out one PVA chain, all the rest comes with it in a blob.